Quote:
Originally Posted by shahadi
Quote:
Originally Posted by IronDuke99
This is an old article, (mid 2014) but it does show a QE class carrier (right) next to a Invincible class light carrier they are replacing.
The three invincible class ships, after midlife refits, could carry a maximum of 20 aircraft of all types at a squeeze.
The deck edge lifts are both down on QE.
HMS Queen Elizabeth is due to enter Portsmouth Naval base for the first time at some point between between March and May this year.
http://navalanalyses.blogspot.com.au...eth-class.html
Click photo to enlarge. |
She has two carriers under production in the QE class, is that right? And, as I recall, RN will deploy only helos until about 2021 or so. Can you give more detail.
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Two Ships, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales (both are traditional Battleship rather than Aircraft Carrier names in the RN. There remains a slight possibility than PoW might get renamed Ark Royal).
HMS Queen Elizabeth is only now finishing building and is a brand new ship of a brand new class and has yet to do sea trails, etc.
She is pretty unlikely to be operational in any sense until 2020 and that is when she will get her first fixed wing aircraft. Because the F-35B aircraft will also be new that is going to require a fairly long work up too.
At the moment UK owns four F-35 and is due to buy 148, most will be RAF manned, although RAF squadrons will deploy to the carriers. Given the RAF intends to operate its F-35B aircraft in a conventional manner (ie, normal runway landings) on land, it remains to be seen how this will work in practice. At sea the F-35 can land vertically, but, if full of fuel and/or weapons will use a "rolling landing". My guess is that that is a skill that will require practice...
(The RN has air and flight deck crew on attachment with the USN and USMC, and has had for some years now, to help work up big carrier/F-35B skills and also occasionally does stuff with the French Carrier).
She should be more or less fully operational, with a full air group, in 2021-22, when, rumour suggests, she will do a Indian Ocean-Pacific deployment. A full, peacetime, air group should be 24 F-35B and about 8-12 Helicopters including AEW with Crowsnest.
HMS Prince of Wales should Commission 2019-20, and getting her operational should be much quicker. Having two Carriers will mean the RN will be able to maintain one constantly in commission and, mostly, have two available for major emergencies.
The current plan is that PoW will also be able to double as a Landing Platform Helicopter for the Royal Marines, although a lot of people, including myself, think that is a crazy, and risky, idea for a 70,000 ton warship. She would be a huge, very high value, target sitting just off an enemy coast. Hopefully common sense will prevail and HMS Ocean will be run on, until a replacement can be built.
The RN's last big Carrier was HMS Ark Royal 1955-79, that ended up at 54,000 tons, 804ft with a oa beam of 171ft and could carry up to 38 aircraft.
The QE's are 70,600 tons, 920ft with a oa beam of 239ft and can carry "over 40 aircraft" including aircraft as large as Chinook and Osprey.
Frankly I will be amazed if these ships cannot carry 50 aircraft if need be, given that only USN Carriers are larger (The latest USN Gerald R. Ford class carriers are over 100,000 tons, 1,106ft with a oa beam of 256ft and carry 75+ aircraft).
HMS Hermes (the RN Flagship in the Falkland's conflict of 1982) was about 30,000 tons, 744ft with a oa beam of 144ft and at one stage in the Falklands war had an air group of 36 aircraft of all types.
For more info see
http://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/carr...tion-nonsense/